Parties just after exams were always the best for relaxing, though not the best in case they had school the next day, thought Cassandra, rubbing her forehead as she made her way to the main noticeboard.

She'd had a wonderful night until she'd walked into the kitchen for water. Laura stood in a corner, furiously whispering something to Kai. She would have approached them if not for the fact that she still wasn't on speaking terms with Laura. Kai looked more annoyed than furious with her, but it was still there.

"You never stay long enough to enjoy!" She heard Laura complain. "That's because I don't enjoy it here." "But I do!" "Just so you haven't noticed it by now, that's why I've been here for the last fifteen minutes. I'm pretty sure that's more than enough time for you to remind everyone of your newest hot boyfriend." Laura, god bless her, didn't rise to the jab. "I want you to stay longer, at least today." She said, with as much patience as she could muster. Maybe another time, not today" Kai was adamant about it. Laura got furious at this.

"I'm not going to be anybody's pass-time Kai, especially not yours!" She warned. "You talk as though you haven't gotten through two boys before me since his term started, Lau." He said, making her flinch. Kai  had the ability to male a cute nickname sting. Laura had stormed off at that, shortly followed by Kai.

And now, the first thing she hears after her AP Chemistry class was about how close Kai and Hillary had seemed this morning, before they had been interrupted by a few students.

The entire student body was rushing to the main notice board to check their marks of the tests conducted last week. And while the nerdy students jhosled each other to know their marks, Cassie stood at a corner as Jude and Liz filled her in on what they had seen that morning.

"And then we walk in and they're practically this close!" "Hands touching! A smile on their faces (even Kai, a tiny smile! she emphasized it a dozen times)" "And the moment the girls had walked in, Hillary had jumped apart it seems, blushing furiously." "I swear, there's something going on here. Why would she move away so quickly if she wasn't guilty of doing something wrong?" Jude intoned multiple times, as though Kai was completely innocent in the situation.

As much as she loved her friends, she didn't really believe everything they said. She did realise there was a degree of exaggeration involved.

And no matter how many times she'd warned Laura about Kai, he didn't seem that bad, she thought, thinking of all the times she'd been with him in the past few weeks. He valued his closest of friends beyond measure. She'd seen his focus and determination in both academics and beyblading. And unlike the other red flags her best friend had dated in the past, he was so far the best amongst them.

Not the greatest compliment she realised, but still,  Kai did have the basic decency of at least breaking up with his current interest before pursuing his next one. And Hillary, as much as she hated her, just didn't seem like the type who would go for the likes of him.

But nonetheless, she was glad Jude and Liz had come to her, rather than going to Laura directly. Given what had happened yesterday, she was sure that Laura would take this news/rumour in the wrongest way possible and make a huge scene out of it.

All she had to do now was to find Kai and talk to him, because voluntarily talking to Hillary today was out of the question.

Kai, as usual, was nowhere to be seen. She didn't understand how he managed to practically stay hidden until he wanted to be found. Hillary, on the other hand, stood in the centre of her vision, beside Aubery, absolutely glowing with the knowledge that she'd secured the highest marks in all her classes except for AP chemistry, where she'd lost to Kai by a mark.

And a similar fate awaited Kai, who'd gotten himself the highest marks in all his classes, except for AP Biology where he lost to Hillary by a mark. Yep, toppers of their respective grades, a match made in heaven, Cassie thought sourly.

She herself wasn't far behind, she reminder herself, just a few marks short of Hillary, fourth highest in her grade after her, Kenny and Max. But being bested by not just one or two, but three new students in academics too stung a bit.

But that was for another time, she consoled herself, now thinking of where she could find Kai. The Bey-arena was her first thought. The bladebreakers had taken to spending some time in the arena after school, working on their beyblading skills, ever since they'd gotten permission to use the bey-stadium when it wasn't being used by the school.

She herself had spent a good deal of time with them,  watching their practice matches whenever she'd been free or wanted a slightly noisy place to study. The boys didn't seem to mind her presence, in fact some of them even welcomed it, just to make Kai keep his language in check. Kai would just roll his eyes whenever this topic was brought up.

And just as she'd thought, Kai was in the bey-stadium. She heard the clang of metal hitting metal first, before she saw Kai. In all the time she'd spent with the blade-breakers, she'd never seen Kai beyblade. In person, that is.

She'd seen video clips of him besting one or the other guy when her brother-never mind. She'd seen him beyblade before, end of story.

He now stood by the zig-zaging exercises. Metal rods were arranged in a line in this exercise, such that the beyblades had to zig-zag their way between the rods. Majority of the exercise was easy, but she'd never seen anyone, not even Tyson, pass through the last five to six rods without hitting them. The distance between them was just enough for a beyblade to pass through, leaving no room for error.

Kai stood at one side, calling his beyblade to him again and again as it stumbled between the last two rods. Kai, being the perfectionist he is, looked frustrated with his shortcomings.

"You're being too hard on yourself Kai. Relax a bit." Kai looked up at her surprised. "What? Did I finally manage to sneak up on you? And to think that I wasn't even trying." She said. "I'm trying to concentrate here." He deadpaned. "Please continue." She said sweetly. "But I don't think it'll get you anywhere if you're going to be so rigid. Relax those shoulder blades there," She said tapping his shoulder.

She was by no means as tall as Laura, but she could tap his shoulder without lifting her hand too much. "Take a few deep breaths." She tapped his chest then, before stepping back. "I've seen a good deal of videos of you completing various exercises, with your signature style of end it with your blade standing on the thinnest rod present. I know you can do it." Anyone else would have looked pleased with her compliments, but Kai only sighed in response.

He loosened his stance a bit, before launching his bey-blade again. His beyblade's movement was so smooth that she hardly heard a sound. One could say that it was nearly gliding with how fast it passed through the forty something rods.

Then, the actual challenge began. It happened in seconds, but she could feel Kai's tension raise. His stance was still thankfully relxed, for he seemed to have taken her advice to heart. And just like that, she heard a definitive clank of metal land  on metal. Like a full stop. His beyblade spun on top of the last rod, perfectly balanced.

And just when she was about to congratulate Kai for the accomplishment, the strangest thing happened. His beyblade glowed from the centre and out emerged a beautiful bird with shimmering maroon and golden feathers. She wasn't whole like a real bird would be, was more like a 3-D projection, but the warmth and power it radiated was unmistakable.

But then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the image of the bird flickered, as though the projector's battery was nearly dead before the image completely went out.

"Ouch." She heard Kai swear quietly. Kai was slightly bent to a side, his hand clutching his left torso tightly in pain. She must have stood petrified for a moment, because he clarified a moment later, "Must have pulled a muscle." he said, before slowly limping his way to a corner seat.

That spur her into action. She fetched him his water bottle from his bag. Kai took a big gulp of water before pouring the rest of it on his face. For some reason, Cassandra found the entire display hot.

Well, it wasn't 'some' reason. Kai's hair had gotten slick with water, giving him a more natural look. The lighter tone of his hair came down to his face, partially covering his eyes. His shirt stuck to his body in some places, showcasing his well-done body. Small rivets of water ran down his arms, giving his toned muscles more definition. And his eyes... They were rimmed red, like he'd pulled an all-nighter, giving his red eyes more definition. And most importantly, he looked happier than he'd ever been in all the time she'd known him.

It was like happiness emerging from deep inside him, a sense of contentment accompanying it. She realised she was staring at him, which made her blush and look away. Thankfully, Kai hadn't noticed it yet, given that he was still recovering from the pulled muscle.

Cassandra immediately felt ashamed of her thoughts. Look at her, thinking of how hot Kai was when he was obviously struggling. "Should I get the nurse?" She asked, standing up. "Nah, that won't be necessary." Trying to write it off as nothing. This make Cassie's insides boil. She knew it wasn't nothing, he could have seriously hurt himself! "You shouldn't be bey-blading yet! Wait until I tell Ray-" She started, only to realise Kai was quietly laughing at her. "Spends a week with us and now the new girl thinks she knows all our weaknesses, huh? I'm fine. Wasn't supposed to call dranzer out today, but what can I say, got carried away a bit..." He explained.

"So that was dranzer, your bit-beast? The maroon and golden bird?" Kai looked up surprised. "I didn't know you could see bit-beasts." He said, for which Cassie just shrugged. "Although she's more of a Phoenix." Kai corrected her. "Oh." They were quiet for a moment.

"So, why were you looking for me?" Kai asked, disdain colouring his voice. "If you're here to warn me to treat Laura right or something, I think we're past that. I broke up with her that night, I know you were there. And that's final."

With her mometary fascintion with him and his bit-beast, she'd completely forgotten about her original reason to seek him out. "You guys broke up? But I thought you guys just went away after that fight!" "You didn't follow us?" Kai asked, incredulously. Cassie shook her head. "Didn't want to intrude..."  "And she didn't tell you? Oh yeah, the amity club issue isn't resolved yet, is it?" Cassie flushed, though she knew he didn't bring it up to offend her.

"Kept nagging the whole way like a spoilt brat. I told her to find herself a guy who'd follow her around like a lost puppy. Then told her I was done with her. As expected, she didn't take the news well. I believe this was the first time she was dumped." He concluded softly, seeking her affirmation. She sighed, nodding her head.

"If not for that, why were you here?" He asked again, looking at her with an emotion she couldn't place. Was it curiosity? Suddenly, her entire motive seemed silly. What was she thinking, coming to Kai of all people, to confirm a stupid rumour? And most importantly, she didn't want him to think that all she cared about was gossip and rumours. "You're blushing?" He chided, slowly smirking now.

"What? Nothing. I was just passing by..." She started, trying to find the right words. "You don't just pass by the basement, especially since a fifteen minute break isn't enough for you to do some swimming practice, with the pool being in the opposite direction." "I... It's nothing, really." She tried tondismiss it, but in vain. "Now I'm real curious. You generally don't evade this much." Kaininformed her.

Cassie buried her face in her hands, not ready to make eye contact. "Please don't think of me to be silly or anything... It's just that Jude told me she found you alone with Hillary in AP Chemistry class and I thought..." She waved her hand in the general direction. "Hillary's my lab partner. She was already there when I arrived." Kai stated innocently. She didn't know how good of an actor Kai was, but she ploughed in.

Cassie defended the girls, even though she was sure they had been exaggerating, just to see his reaction. "Liz said you guys were standing real close to each other..."

Kai got up at this. Cassie looked up worried. She was so sure he found her irksome now and was trying to get her to leave him alone. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, when he did something even more surprising. "How close were we?" He asked, asking her hand to stand up with him. He didn't let go of her fingers after she stood up, facing him.

"How close do you think we were? This close? " He took a step in her direction, "Or this close" He asked, taking another step. "Or this much?" He concluded. There was hardly an inch space in between them. "Maybe this much." She whispered, looking up at him.

Cassie hardly breathed, afraid she'd touch him if she did. "What else did she say?" He asked again, his voice a deep murmur next to her ear. "That you had a hand around her." "Like this?" He smirked, snaking an arm around her, sending chills down her spine. Gods, his hand was as cold as ice, making her shiver, though she wasn't sure whether it was because the goosebumps raised at her waist or because of the cold. "They also said Hillary was blushing when they came in." "Just like you are doing now." He noted, all but laughing now. Cassie wasn't going to let Kai make fun of her, no matter how much she like him.

"And what do you think we were doin-" He started, but she didn't let him finish the thought. She rose to her tip-toes and kissed him on the lips. She withdrew a second later, searching his eyes. He looked speechless, which wasn't his usual expression after a kiss. It usually was a smirk, or sometimes, a self-satisfied smile. "Didn't think you'd actually do it." He voiced out endearingly.

Before she could back away in disappointment, or regret her own brashness, he leaned down a bit, kissing her back. She immediately loped an arm around his neck, the other running through his hair. They were as soft as she'd imagined they would be. He snaked his hands around her waist, slightly lifting her up so she didn't have to struggle.

This kiss was slow and gentle and a lot longer than the previous one. Cassie was panting by the end of it, but nothing could have wiped the giddy smile on her face. Kai too had a small smile on his face, and that smile looked more genuine than any other smile she'd ever seen him give. Another win for her.

This could have very well been one of the best moments of her life. Then, she wished she hadn't thought of it like that, because  every best moment of her life had been overshadowed with grief as of late. And fate didn't disappoint her this time either.

They were interrupted by the sound of a bottle being crushed. Laura stood at the entrance, looking a dangerous mix of devastation and fury.

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Words: 2754

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A/N: Well, it seems this turned into a double update, something I'd never done before!

Hope you guys loved this chapter because I was full one squealing when I was just writing this. I believe Kai couldn't have been smoother.

And given that he held dranzer for the first time in months, our favourite boy deserves a break from the grumpy "hmm-hmm' captain.

Vote and comment guys! Do tell me what you think of this chapter! What do think happens next? What part of this book got you most excited up until now? What part of the story are you eagerly waiting for?

PS: Thank you @1ABCD23456 for all the consistent votes you've showered on this story throughout the years! I think I've seen your name pop on my notifications enough times to tell you've been with this story for a long time, maybe from the very beginning ( or am I confusing usernames here???XO)